The Essence of Teamwork

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their hard work. For if one of them should fall, the other one can raise his partner up. But how will it be with just the one who falls when there is not another to raise him up?"  Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10

As the scriptural text quoted above implies, teamwork can accomplish what the individual cannot do on his or her own. Teamwork is defined as "a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable." (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993) In today's society, with so much emphasis on pride and personal achievement, the concept of teamwork seems to be old-fashioned or basic. Clashes of personality, different perspectives and cultures prescribe one to develop a natural inclination toward individual work and an unhealthy reluctance towards team work. Nevertheless, teamwork, if managed properly, can be a source in which complexity is simplified, a problem meets a solution and great things are accomplished. So with the focus on teamwork, what are the present challenges to teamwork? What are some good approaches towards building a successful team? Finally, what are the personal and collective benefits of teamwork?

The Challenges to TeamworkWhen asked the question, "What are some challenges to teamwork?" most people would respond with common answers such as: conflicts of personalities, stress, job dissatisfaction, unethical behavior, miscommunication or lack of communication. However, with advancements in technology and a never before experienced contact between the western and eastern hemispheres of the world, there are new challenges that are being encountered now and will continue to be dealt with in the future. The challenges that must be met by today's project teams are: Virtual Project Teaming, Cross-functional teams, Globalization, Diversity and Time to Market Pressure. Most of the common contributing factors to teamwork failure such as personality conflict, miscommunication or stress are the consequences experienced if the previously mentioned challenges are not met. The greater proportion of the work of virtual project teams is carried out online. These sorts of teams exploit reliable and consistent communications in order to work together and overcome some of the frictions of time and geography. Simply put, there is nothing wrong with using great technology such as e-mail, videoconferencing or teleconferencing. However there is a problem when such methods frequently become a substitute for face-to-face communications. Face to face meetings allow for immediate feedback in regards to decision-making and a greater familiarity with other team members. The problems associated with virtual project teaming are limited familiarity with other members, different time zones, inability to resolve conflicts effectively and as always the possibility of technical difficulties with the equipment.

Cross-functional teams consist of team members of multiple disciplines, skills and talents. A great amount of projects have parameters that extend above engineering and reach into areas such as marketing, sales, public relations and so forth. Therefore, it is important that team members with different qualifications work in harmony with each other if a project is to be successful. Nevertheless, problems arise when vital team members are not available and no one has any knowledge of their portion of the project. Problems also arise when one team member has little respect for the discipline of another.

The by-product of the globalization movement of large corporations and organizations is a growth in diversity. Project teams must develop products and provide services for a mass market. Therefore, project teams now and in the future will include different...

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

...﻿
Subject : Organization Behavior
Section : EAR
Teamwork
Designed by :
Hala wael alsayeh 1102320
Jumanah Badahdah 1132443
Hadiya Gadiri 1102329
Halima Mohamed 1102310
Shorooq Ba- Saiwar 1102365
Teamwork
There are certain jobs that require individual focus and attention, but a vast majority of projects require teamwork to be done . Nowadays being able to work productively with a team is one of the most essential aspects of achieving success in a business setting. It’s important for increasing creativity in the workplace and improving the quality of work. Also, employees that have the ability to work together are usually better able to serve their company needs, so teamwork is very important for all kind of organizations and it is used in all aspects of life . This essay will explain what is the meaning of a teamwork , the differences between teamwork and group work , characteristics of effective team and benefits of teamwork .Also , we will displayed the key roles of the team and teamwork skills. Finally we will see how organizations care about the teamwork in real life .
As a beginning , we should know the definition of teamwork and the differences between teamwork and group work . First, teamwork is a group...

...in some area that is vital to the success of the group.
Table 1: Belbin’s Role Model
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS AND TEAMS
Table 2: difference between groups and teams
Definition of teamworkTeamwork is a joint action by two or more people or a group, in which each person contributes with different skills and Express his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals.
Importance of Teamwork in Organizations
Work Efficiency
Teamwork enables you to accomplish tasks faster and more efficiently than tackling projects individually. Cooperating together on various tasks reduces workloads for all employees by enabling them to share responsibilities or ideas. Teamwork also reduces the work pressure on every worker, which allows him to be thorough in the completion of the assigned roles.
Learning Opportunities
Cooperating on a project is an opportunity for new workers to learn from more experienced employees. Teams often consist of members who differ from one another in terms of skills or talents. Working together is a great opportunity to acquire skills that an employee never had beforehand, unlike working alone on a project.
Qualities and Skills of effective Teamwork
1. Communicates constructively
Teams need people who speak up and express their thoughts and ideas clearly,...

...how effective group works in a team and also in an organisation. The report explains the steps of how the groups are made in an organization to have a complete team building exercise where the task is to form a group of 3 to 4 members depending on the work to be done in the team, and to build trust and good relations between the group members by communicating with each other and to avoid conflicts and stay in contact with each other as long as possible.
It also reviews different types of frame work within the teams to promote the teams and also the organisation. Harris &amp; Harris (1996) also explain that a team has a common goal or purpose where team members can develop effective, mutual relationships to achieve team goals. Teams and teamwork help to promote deep learning that occurs through interaction, problem solving, dialogue, cooperation and collaboration (Johnson &amp; Johnson, 1995).
What is a team?
Team work has become an important part of the working culture and many organisations now look at team work skills when evaluating a person for employment. Most organisations realise the team work is important because either the product is sufficiently complex that it requires a team with multiple skills to produce, and / or a better product will result when a team approach is taken. Therefore, it is important that people learn the function in a team environment so that they will have team work skills when they enter the work place.
A work team is...

...Teamwork
All of us have worked in teams at some point in our lives, and we all can recall a time we had interacting with others to meet team objectives. Communication is the way we get through our daily life, both personally and professionally. There are team units in our lives that we chose to be in, and then there are those that we are simply put in without a choice. It is usually these groups that have we will have the most conflict. I have had the ability to view a lot of different team settings through my work and family life. Being part of a team brings to my mind many things, both the good and bad experiences that I went through while working with team members and others in my life.
There are many questions that I have asked myself after many meetings. Some are as follows:
How did I perform? Was I able to lead the team to meet its objectives? What did other team members feel about my presence in the team? Were my interactions positive or negative? Did I learn anything from my interactions within and outside the team?
As I look back into my own life, I find myself dwelling on these points, was I able to come up with hither to unnoticed aspects about my personality and work that will qualify me as a valuable member of the management team at work, in which we meet every Tuesday morning at 8 am. This is when we get together to discuss any open cases, client concerns, upcoming training, what is working for us in regards to recruiting and...

...have miles to go before valuing teams and teamwork will be the norm.
You can, however, create a teamwork culture by doing just a few things right. Admittedly, they’re the hard things, but with commitment and appreciation for the value, you can create an overall sense of teamwork in your organization.
Create a Culture of Teamwork
To make teamwork happen, these powerful actions must occur.
•Executive leaders communicate the clear expectation that teamwork and collaboration are expected. No one completely owns a work area or process all by himself. People who own work processes and positions are open and receptive to ideas and input from others on the team.
•Executives model teamwork in their interaction with each other and the rest of the organization. They maintain teamwork even when things are going wrong and the temptation is to slip back into former team unfriendly behavior.
•The organization members talk about and identify the value of a teamwork culture. If values are formally written and shared, teamwork is one of the key five or six.
•Teamwork is rewarded and recognized. The lone ranger, even if she is an excellent producer, is valued less than the person who achieves results with others in teamwork. Compensation, bonuses, and rewards depend on collaborative practices as much as...

...The Hague University
-SSMS- Module 1.5
Mrs. Phebe Winter MSc
p.i.winter@hhs.nl
Professional Abilities – “Skills”
 Module 1 – Class 5 ‘Team Work’
 8th October 2012
Teamwork
 Teamwork guitar playing
 Perfect TeamworkTeamwork - synergy
Synergy comes from the Greek word synergia (synergos) 
“working together”
Synergy usually arises when two persons (or more) with
different complementary skills cooperate. In business,
cooperation of people with organizational and technical skills
happens very often. In general, the most common reason why
people cooperate is that it brings a synergy
Synergy
To create an outcome that is in some
way of more value than the total of
what the individual inputs is.
Teamwork?
Teamwork
 People have different expectations.
So how do you achieve synergy?
Teams should take the time to start up before they
actually start working on an assignment and spend
some time deliberating on teamwork and looking
ahead.
Teamwork - Masterplan
- Agree on your masterplan
- Know who’s there at your table
- Divide roles
- Agree on procedures
Teamwork - Masterplan
 Masterplan
1. Understand the assignment.
2. Inventorying what’s there. The current state.
3. Planning activities.
Understanding
Inventorying
Planning
Masterplan – Understand the assignment
 Find...

...------------------------p.3
References--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.4
1. Introduction
Some of the advantages and disadvantages are found in teamwork recently. It is, however, apparent that there are a lot of facts shown that teamwork becomes more important between company departments or multicultural cooperations due to globalization trend. Having teamwork can make plan conduct effectively and efficiently whilst it may happen obstruction delaying the project if team members or the team founder do not take advantage of team-working. It is evident that teams are widely used in organizations present years while there is the need to solve problems and finish innovative tasks (Kurtzberg, 2000). In overview, there are two theories, Belbin (1981) 9 team roles model and Tuckman (1965) lifecycle of teams, shown that how to design teams for best creative and high-quality-reaching production. Moreover, what is the application during the team conducting itself illustrating afterwards.
2. Two theories analysis and application
2.1 Belbin’s 9 Team Roles Model
One of the most important theories of teamwork is 9 Team Roles Model (Belbin, 1981) which Belbin (1981) identified Plants, Resource investigators, Monitor Evaluators, Co-ordinators, Implementers, Completer Finishers, Teamworkers, Shapers and...

...Porter’s Five Forces
Threat of New Entrants ( High):
Foreign and local competitors
IBM, Compaq and HP also entered into market.
Less government policy barriers (China joined WTO in 2002)
Potential barriers include:
Access to distribution channels
Scale economies (Local production plants)
Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Low):
Most competitors are vertically integrated that’s why the there is low bargaining power opportunities for Dell with suppliers.
External Analysis:
Bargaining Power of Customers (MODERATE):
Few buyers purchase a large portion of industry output
State-owned companies, MNCs and educational institutions
Sales account for a large portion of Dell’s sales revenues 50% from government, education, telecoms, power and finance.
Brand reputation and product differentiation can mitigate
Substitutes (Low):
Competitive Rivalry (Intense):
High profit potential due to industry growth
Main buyers are institutions with more resources than individuals
Price pressure from local competitors
High fixed costs of production capacity
High strategic stakes (focus on market share)
Aggressive competitive response
Lenovo adopting Dell’s direct sales model in China
Lenovo’s joint venture with IBM to increase its share
Lenovo’s brand campaign to improve recognition
Competitors Analysis:
Future objectives:
Build market share rapidly over its competitors.
Current strategy:
Cost leadership (Lenovo, Founder, Tongfang)...